Federal Indian Law: A Comprehensive Guide to Tribal Sovereignty and Jurisdiction

66 questions on federal indian law, answered and cited by the UpLaw editorial team.

• Are tribal court judgments enforceable in state court?
• Can a state tax a nonmember doing business in Indian country?
• Can a state tax a tribe or its members?
• Can a tribal employee be sued personally for a tort?
• Can a tribe and the federal government both prosecute the same conduct?
• Can a tribe prosecute a non-Indian?
• Can a tribe restore its sovereignty by buying back historic reservation land?
• Does state law ever provide more protection than ICWA?
• Does tribal immunity cover off-reservation commercial activity?
• Do federal statutes of general applicability apply to tribes?
• Do Indians pay federal income tax?
• How did Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl narrow ICWA?
• How did tribal gaming become legal?
• How does environmental law work in Indian country?
• How does ICWA allocate jurisdiction between tribal and state courts?
• How do you analyze tribal civil jurisdiction over a nonmember?
• How do you determine whether a reservation still exists?
• How have Strate, Atkinson, Hicks, and Plains Commerce narrowed Montana?
• How is trust land leased and developed?
• What alternatives exist when a tribe asserts sovereign immunity?
• What are contract support costs and why did Salazar v. Ramah matter?
• What are the Indian-law canons of construction?
• What are the key takeaways in federal Indian law?
• What are the lasting effects of the allotment era?
• What are the three classes of Indian gaming?
• What are Winters water rights and how do they differ from other water rights?
• What counts as a waiver of tribal sovereign immunity?
• What did Castro-Huerta change — and what did it not?
• What did Haaland v. Brackeen decide about ICWA?
• What did McGirt v. Oklahoma decide?
• What did the Boldt decision hold about treaty fishing rights?
• What does Public Law 280 actually do — and not do?
• What federal consultation duties are owed to tribes?
• What is a 638 contract and why does it change who you sue?
• What is congressional plenary power over Indian affairs, and is it unlimited?
• What is "Indian country" under 18 U.S.C. § 1151?
• What is Public Law 280 and which states does it cover?
• What is special Tribal criminal jurisdiction under VAWA?
• What is the criminal/prohibitory versus civil/regulatory distinction?
• What is the difference between the Major Crimes Act and the General Crimes Act?
• What is the fee-to-trust process and why does Carcieri matter?
• What is the foundational premise of federal Indian law?
• What is the Marshall Trilogy and why does it still matter?
• What is the Montana rule for tribal civil jurisdiction over nonmembers?
• What is the most common mistake companies make in dealing with tribes?
• What is the reserved rights doctrine?
• What is the scope of tribal taxing power?
• What is the Seminole Tribe problem in Indian gaming?
• What is the tribal exhaustion doctrine?
• What is tribal sovereign immunity, and how broad is it?
• What limits does the Indian Civil Rights Act place on tribal courts?
• What must a real waiver of tribal immunity contain?
• What remedy does the Indian Civil Rights Act provide?
• What should a vendor do before contracting with a tribal enterprise?
• What sovereignty problems exist beyond immunity?
• What substantive standards does ICWA impose?
• When can a tribe recover damages for breach of the federal trust responsibility?
• When does a tribal business entity share the tribe's immunity?
• Where should a case involving a tribe be filed?
• Who is an "Indian child" and what proceedings does ICWA cover?
• Who is an "Indian" for federal criminal jurisdiction purposes?
• Who prosecutes crimes committed in Indian country?
• Why does the Indian Child Welfare Act exist?
• Why does the type of land inside a reservation matter?
• Why is federal Indian law such a volatile field?
• Why is federal recognition a threshold question?